A journey from Kashmir to Kanyakumari on track

SRINAGAR: The long-awaited train service from Kashmir to Kanyakumari is about to become a reality. This follows the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS) inspecting the 17 km Katra-Reasi stretch of the 65 km Katra-Sangaldan section of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link on January 5, 2025. This is a vital link connecting Kashmir to the rest of the country. PM Narendra Modi is likely to dedicate it to the nation on January 26. “Of the 65-km long Katra-Sangaldan, the Reasi-Sangaldan part including Reasi Station has been completed. Only a 17 km stretch between Katra and Sangaldan which has the iconic Anji Khad bridge is pending CRS inspection. All of them together will be inaugurated together by the PM,” said K Sainath Reddy, executive engineer of Konkan Railway at Reasi Station. Anji Khad Bridge, which connects two tunnels between Katra and Reasi station is India’s first cable-stayed bridge is 473.35 meters long. Katra is the last railway station on the Jammu side where people get down for the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine. “The bridge has support of 96 cables having cable lengths varying from 82 meters to 295 meters,” said Sjuo Kumar Deputy Chief Engineer (Bridges) of Konkan Railways. After Reasi, comes Bakkal, and thereafter comes Kanthan Chenab Railway Station. Before the station is Chenab Bridge, the world’s highest railway bridge. “The height of this arch bridge is 359 meters above the riverbed. It is taller than the Statue of Unity, which is 182 meters, and the Eiffel Tower, which stands at a height of 330 metres,” said RR Mallick, Deputy CE of Chenab Bridge.